Gr 


=&& 


RBR 


Duke  University  Libraries 

Fast-day  sermon 
Conf  Pam  l2mo  #476 


■30—*"**+ 


FAST-MY  .SERMON,     , 


PREACHED  IN.  THE  GOOD  HOPE  cfltfRCH, 


2^ 


LOWNDES  COUNTY,  ALABAMA, 


THURSDAY,  J  ITI,   ls«H. 


BY  KEV.  T.  L.  DE  VEAUX, 

STATED  .SUPPLY. 


WYTHEVILLE: 

D.  A.  ST.  CLAIR,  PRINTER, 

1861. 


•■"  »i  .   "■'    J1  '.!**-- 


'    - 


•*  % 


f 


»%*£ 


fllomsjjottdtnff. 

Good  Hope,  June  23,  1861. 


Rev.  T.  J..  De  Veaux: 

Dear  Sir — At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  of  Good  Hope 
held  this  tlay,  on  motion,  it  was  unamiously  Resolved,  "That  Rev.  T.  L.  De  Veaux 
be  retfueisted  to  furnish  for  publication  a  copy  of  his  able  and  highly  interesting 
sermon 'preached  before  them  on  Fast-day,  Thursday  the  13th  inst." 

The  pleasing  duty  of  making  known  to  you  this  resolution  devolves  upon  the 
undersigned  as  a  committee ;  and  allow  us  to  express  the  gratification  we  exper- 
ienced during  its  delivery,  and  to  add  our  personal  solicitations  to  those  of  the 
congregation  we  represent. 

Respectfully  yours, 

To  Rev.  T.  L.  De  Veaux,  C.  E.  REESE, 

Lowndesboro',  WM.  LYMAN,    \-  Committee. 

Lowndes  Co.,  S.  K.  PHARR, 
Ala. 


Lowndesboro',  Ala.,  July  2,  1861. 
Messrs.  C.  E.  Reese,  Wm.  Lyman  and  S.  K.  Pharr,  Committee,  &c: 

Gentlemen: — Your  kind  communication  of  the  23rd  ult.  informing  me  of  the 
resolution  of  the  Good  Hope  congregation  with  reference  to  the  publication  of 
my  sermon  preached  before  them  on  Fast-day,  has  been  received.  The  sermon 
referred  to  was  hurriedly  prepared,  with  but  little  opportunity  for  revision.  The 
unanmious  request  of  the  congregation,  and  the  fact,  that  said  sermon  is  a, plain 
and  practical  exposition  of  the  necessity  for  confession  and  supplication  before 
Almighty  God,  and  may  avail  somewhat  in  awakening  christians  to  a  sense  of 
their  obligations,  are  considerations  which  demand  attention.  While  it  is  with 
much  hesitation  I  am  induced  to  comply,  it  is  yet  with  the  trembling  hope  and 
fervent  prayer,  that  God  will  bless  it  to  the  spiritual  good  of  some,  and  the  pro- 
motion of  the  cause  of  Truth.  The  manuscript  is  at  your  disposal. 
With  christian  regard,  yours  most  truly, 

T.  L.  DE  VEAUX. 


• 


\*]&\ 


*f     -  n 


Daniel  ix:  19. 
"  0  Lord,  hear ;  0  Lord,  forgive ;  0  Lord,  hearken  and  do ;  defer  not  for  thine 
own  sake,  0  my  God." 

Prostration  of  the  heart  before  God  is  at  all  times  a  solemn 
and  impressive  spectacle.  It  is  an  act  signifying  a  renuncia- 
tion of  self-dependence  and  self-reliance — an  act  directly  and 
distinctly  recognizing  and  acknowledging  the  Supreme  Exis- 
tence, and  our  dependence  upon,  and  obligations  to  Him. — 
But  while  the  prostration  of  the  individual  heart  before  God 
is  an  act  of  deep  and  solemn  significance,  the  attitude  which 
the  national  heart  assumes,  when  it  bows  in  confession  and 
supplication,  is  a  spectacle  involving  a  thousand-fold  more  so- 
lemnity. In  the  one  case  a  person  bows  and  is  accepted ;  in  the 
other  a  nation's  great,  throbbing,  passion-stricken  heart  is  laid 
upon  the  altar,  and  opened  publicly  to  the  scrutiny  of  Almighty 
God.  It,  too,  is  an  act  recognizing  the  Supreme  Existence — 
acknowledging  His  sovereignty  as  the  Overruling  Power  in 
the  affairs  of  nations,  and  the  entire  dependence  of  the  nation- 
al body  upon  Him  for  guidance  and  direction. 

How  solemn  the  spectacle  which  this  great  nation  presents 
to  the  world  to-day.  A  nation  with  its  conflicts,  its  contentions, 
its  mighty  emotions,  its  fears,  its  tears,  its  passions  and  its  sor- 
rows ;  its  resoluteness,  its  confidence,  its  might  and  its  right, 
suddenly  pauses  from  the  contemplation  of  its  social  and  po- 
litical relations,  turns  its  eyes  from  the  battle-field,  closes  its 
ears  against  the  dread  battle-cry,  and  comes  with  an  humble 
heart  and  tear-moistened  eyes  to  the  throne,  and  there  raises  its 
hands  in  penitent  confession  and  supplication  to  Almighty 
( I  ( ><  1 .  A  nation  bold  in  defence  of  the  right,  throws  away  its  pride, 
and,  as  a  little  child,  prostrates  itself  upon  its  face  in  the  dust, 
to  "deplore  its  sins,  to  acknowledge  its  dependence,  to  swear 
allegience  and  to  confess  its  responsibility." — Seek  the  mount- 


4 

ain's  brow,  and  with  tearful  emotion  let  your  souls  feast  upon 
the  glories  with  which  the  early  morning  sun  bathes  nature 
first  awakening  from  her  night's  repose.  See  the  glittering 
ornaments  with  which  she  comes  forth  bedecked.  Hear  her 
thousand  voices  all  attuned  to  melody.  See  the  glad  smile 
which  renders  her  face  radiant  with  beauty.  You  call  it  grand 
— sublime ! — but  turn  your  eyes  to  yon  lowly,  kneeling  figure, 
with  face  bending  earthward,  and  form  all  robed  in  penitence, 
and  watch  the  troubled  pulsations  of  that  proud,  mighty  heart, 
and  hear  the  cry  which  proceeds  from  those  trembling  lips : 
"0  Lord,  hear;  0  Lord,  forgive ;  0  Lord,  hearken  and  do;" — and 
the  sight  quickens  the  intense  emotions  of  your  hearts,  and 
hushes  to  silence  the  rapt  exclamations  of  praise  which  tremble 
upon  you  lips ;  while  you  stand  silent  with  awe  and  wonder  and 
admiration.  In  that  form  kneeling  in  penitent  attitude — our 
own  beloved  penitent  Land — our  cherished  South — is  embodied  a 
majesty — a  sublimity — that  far  exceeds  utterance  and  surpasses 
conception-^  nation  lies  there,  in  whose  great  heart  the  hitherto 
frozen  fount  of  penitential  tears  has  been  broken  up — whose 
voice  is  as  the  voice  of  them  that  weep  bitterly.  A  nation  has 
descended  from  the  throne  of  its  haughtiness  "high  and  lifted 
up,"  to  bow  the  knee  in  the  court  of  the  congregation  of  mourn- 
ers. Let  the  voice  of  levity  and  merriment  be  hushed  while  a 
nation  pleads  with  God.  Let  the  feast,  and  the  dance,  and  the 
sounds  of  gayety  be  banished,  and  let  a  universal  silence  prevail : 
for  a  kneeling  nation  confesseth  unto  Jehovah  of  hosts. 

My  Brethren,  what  is  the  object  of  our  convention  here  to- 
day? It  is  not  a  Sabbath  service  that  calls  us  to  the  sanctuary ; 
not  a  Sabbath  service  which  invites  us  to  throw  aside  the  im- 
plements of  our  toil,  and  to  rest  our  minds  and  bodies  from  the 
active  social  duties  which  devolve  upon  us ;  it  is  not  to  cele- 
brate with  joyful  anthems  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  some 
great  achievement,  or  some  brilliant  victory,  or  some  anniver- 
sary of  past  triumph  won  from  a  powerful  and  malignant  foe 
in  "times  that  tried  men's  souls ;"  but  the  season  is  one  of  ex- 
traordinary solemnity,  and  every  one  here  to-day  should  with 
earnest  heart  enter  upon  the  duties  which  it  well  becomes  us 
to  perform.  You,  my  hearers,  are  members  of  our  kneeling 
South;  and  it  becomes  you  to  consider  wellwpon  the  attitude  of 
hniiiiiity  you  confess  to  assume  by  your  presence  here  to-day. 
day  has  been  set  apart  by  the  authorities  of  the  Common- 


wealth  as  a  day  of  Fasting,  Humiliation  and  Prayer.  The 
country  in  view  of  the  serious  difficulties  which  heset  her  on 
every  side,  and  in  view  of  her  own  impotency  apart  from  divine 
aid,  comes  to  the  Throne,  and  puts  her  cause  into  the  hands  of 
God.  Her  object  is  the  favor  and  protection  of  the  God  of  nations. 
Now,  how  is  this  ohject  to  he  attained? 

The  point  which  I  would  have  you  consider  is  that  confess- 
ion and  supplication  must  precede  the  attainment  of  desired  blessings 
from  God. 

First,  then,  we  must  humble  ourselves  in  Confession  unto 
God,  in  the  capacity  of  Individuals  and  as  a  Nation.  As  Indi- 
viduals have  we  naught  to  confess?  Are  there  not  sins  to  he 
acknowledged  and  deplored?  Are  we  guilty  of  no  omissions  in 
duty?  Have  we  no  positive  transgressions  to  account  for  he- 
fore  God?  Answer  not  hastily.  Put  conscience  on  the  stand, 
and  make  a  record  of  her  testimony.  A\rc  have  been  favored 
with  high  privileges  of  a  temporal  character.  Look  abroad 
over  the  world,  nay,  over  our  own  land,  and  in  our  own  midst, 
and  see  the  many  wretched,  starving,  ragged,  naked  forms, 
bowing  down  in  want,  whose  miserable  hovels  have  been  erect- 
ed in  the  very  lowest  haunts  of  crime,  and  in  the  dark  noisome 
depths  of  degradation,  surrounded  by  all  that  makes  humanity 
shudder  and  turn  pale.  Come  up  still  higher  in  the  scale,  and 
see  how  many  there  are  of  the  deserving,  the  godly  and  the 
excellent,  who  are  yet  the  victims  of  abject  poverty,  whose  souls 
are  sometimes  almost  crazed  with  the  heart-rending  cries  of 
their  famishing  children  begging  for  bread  to  satisfy  the  crav- 
ings of  hunger ;  while  their  own  pale  faces  and  emaciated  forms, 
tell  of  the  endurance  of  sufferings,  which  those  who  feed  upon 
the  fat  of  the  land  have  no  conception  of,  or  care  for :  compare 
with  these,  my  hearers,  your  well-filled  granaries,  your  fine 
well-watered  lands,  and  your  persons  and  homes  surrounded 
by  unnumbered  comforts,  and  teeming  with  the  blessings  of 
life — all  gifts  from  the  hand  of  a  kind  Providence.  "  Who 
maketh  thee  to  differ'1  from  them  "and  what  hast  thou  that  thou  didst 
not  receive."  Have  you  acknowledged  them  as  gifts  from  the 
"Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift  "  in  the  morning  and  in  the 
evening  sacrifice  ?  Have  you  not  the  charge  of  unthankfulness 
to  answer  for?  Then  this  is  a  great  omission  hich  you  have 
to  confess  here  to  day. 

You  have  been  favored  not  only  with  tempcval  comforts,  but 


God  has  blessed  you  with  high  religious  privileges.  The  Bible  not 
"chained  to  the  wall"  nor  sealed  with  the  seal  of  prohibition,  has 
been  yours  to  study.  It  contains  a  record  of  the  Divine  will  and 
the  Divine  plan  suited  to  the  necessities  of  your  souls,  and  is 
he  "power  of  God  unto  salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth." 
There  you  have  a  record  of  the  life  of  sufferings  and  sorrows 
jad  griefs  and  agonies,  and  the  shameful  death,  of  God's  own 
Son  whom  He  sent  to  die  that  you  might  have  life.  Is  there,  my  dear 
hearers,  no  charge  against  you  with  respect  to  this  Book  of 
Divine  instruction?  Have  we  attended  strictly  to  Christ's  di- 
rection to  "search  the  Scriptures"  and  to  Paul's  exhortation  "give 
attendance  to  reading ;"  or  has  the  Bible  lain  as  a  heavy  weight 
upon  our  hands ;  or  does  it  decorate,  as  an  ornament,  the  parlor 
table,  or  is  it  laid  carefully  aside  with  only  the  companionship 
of  the  moth  t  These  are  grave  questions  which  address  them- 
selves to  every  one  of  us ;  and  it  may  be,  God  intends  to  pun- 
ish this  gross  omission,  with  which  many  of  the  people  of  our 
land  are  shamefully  chargeable.  Be  assured  that  God  does  not 
dwell  in  any  heart  which  is  not  animated  with  Bible  principles, 
and  which  does  not  hold  communion  with  him  through  that 
medium.  "Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth:  thy  word  is  truth.'" 
My  Brethren,  do  not  our  consciences  testify  against  us,  that  we 
have  been  strangers  to  the  Bible,  when  it  should  have  been  our 
daily  companion  ? 

Then  there  is  the  duty  of  Prayer.  In  every  christian  house- 
hold, every  heart  should  bow  before  the  Father  for  morning 
blessings  and  direction ;  and  in  the  solemn  stillness  of  the  even- 
ing hour,  in  confession  of  daily  sins  and  thanksgiving  for  daily 
mercies.  Daily  conflicts  require  daily  accessions  of  spiritual 
strength.  Daily  life  with  its  vicissitudes  and  its  mighty  duties 
and  responsibilities,  requires  for  its  right  employment,  daily 
counsel  and  direction.  Any  omission  of  this  duty  is  a  tacit  denial 
of  our  dependence  upon  God  and  of  our  allegiance  to  Him. — 
How  many  of  us  have  to  confess  to  this  omission  ?  Have  we 
not  all  to  confess,  that  "the  closet"  has  been  too  long  sealed, 
or  at  best  but  seldom  opened  for  prayer?  How  comparatively 
seldom  does  God  look  upon  us  in  lowly  attitude,  with  upraised 
hands  and  eyes  and  tear-furrowed  cheeks,  and  penitent,  sor- 
rowing hearts ! 

Nor  is  this  all.  There  is  the  Sabbath.  Do  we  always  "remem- 
ber the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy  ?—ov  do  we  consider  that  this 


obligation  ceases  when  the  church  has  been  entered,  the  discourse 
listened  to,  the  grayer  said,  and  we  have  returned  to  our  homes? 
Hoio  is  the  Sabbath  afternoon  employed?  Do  we  make  the  ivhole 
Sabbath  a  day  of  special  communion  with  God? 

How  is  the  Sanctuary  regarded?  Is  it  a  sacred,  a  hallowed, 
a  precious  place  to  our  souls  ?  Do  we  remember  when  we  enter 
within  its  portals:  "the  Lord  is  in  his  holy  Temple,  let  all  the 
earth  keep  silence  before  him"?  Do  we  consider  that  we  are 
there  for  the  purpose  of  holding  communion  with  our  Maker? 
Or  do  we  resort  thither  because  it  is  customary,  or  fashionable, 
or  to  while  away  a  leisure  hour,  or  to  indulge  an  idle  curiosity? 
uYe  shall  keep  my  Sabbaths  and  reverence  my  Sanctuary:  I  am 
the  Lord." 

There  arc  many  other  solemn  obligations  which  have  been 
too  coldly  and  indifferently  regarded  by  professed  followers  of 
Christ.  How  have  our  daily  observances  comported  with  our 
profession?  There  has  not  been  that  zeal  and  devotion  to  the 
cause  which  should  have  characterized  us  ; — too  much  of  the 
world — temporal  interests  and  emoluments  have  been  too  much 
the  idol  of  our  hearts,  to  which  we  have  paid  too  much  homage. 

Where  has  been  the  Home  altar,  andiohere  its  precious  influences  t 
The  education  of  children  in  the  knowledge  of  Christ  seems  to 
have  been  regarded  by  many  as  a  matter  of  secondary  import- 
ance ;  while  they — the  children — instead  of  being  trained  up  in 
the  "nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord"  have  been  allowed, 
as  the  unbridled  steed,  to  follow  the  prompting  of  hearts  "de- 
ceitful above  all  things  and  desperately  wicked,"  with  but  lit- 
tle if  any  control  or  instruction ;  so  that  in  many  places  the 
mournful  spectacle  is  seen  of  churches  sinking  with  the  with- 
ering dying  bodies  of  departing  aged  members  whose  places 
are  left  long  vacant.  X or  is  this  all.  The  children  of  the 
Church,  ignoring  the  teachings  of  the  Sabbath  School,  uncheck- 
ed by  the  voice  of  affectionate  home  counsel  and  admonition, 
when  age,  and  even  before  age,  places  them  beyond  immediate 
parental  authority,  "walk  in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,  stand 
in  the  way  of  sinners,  sit  in  the  seat  of  the  scornful"  and  plunge 
headlong  into  follies  and  dissipations  and  excesses,  unfitted  for 
the  duties  and  realities  of  life — unprepared  for  1  '  emu  r 

ities  of  eternity.  The  Church — Religion — Society,  cry  loudly 
against  the  evil,  and  God  regards  the  omission  with  hot  dis- 
pleasure.    Christian  parents,  instead  of  estimating  religion  as 


an  essential  of  a  properly  regulated  home,  in  many  instances  seem 
rather  to  look  upon  it  as  only  an  out-door  exercise  to  be  enjoyed 
only  at  the  church.  Religion  pines  and  languishes  in  many 
homes  as  a  sickly  plant,  never  so  thoroughly  developed  as  to 
twine  its  tendrils  around  the  family  heart — never  exhaling  the 
precious  fragrance  of  holiness — never  the  Tree  of  Life  to  child 
as  well  as  parent,  never  the  Home  Life.  And  so,  many  other 
points  might  he  brought  forward  to  exhibit  the  great  necessity 
for  individual  confession  and  humiliation  before  God.  Though 
we  have  sinned,  and  our  sins  be  as  scarlet,  yet  "if  we  confess  our 
sins,  Re  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins  and  to  cleanse  us 
from  all  unrighteousness. " 

But  further:     This  confession  of  sin  must  be  attended  with  deep 
heartfelt  repentance.     "Without  this  the  most  essential  element  of 
true  confession  is  wanting,  and  it  is  but  an  idle  mockery  dis- 
pleasing to  God  and  unsatisfying  to  man.     True  effectual  con- 
fession is  not  the  mere  utterance  of  the  lips,  or  the  eye  dimmed 
with  tears  which  may  not  flow  from  the  full  fountain  of  the 
heart:  it  is  something  more.     It  is  an  expression  of  our  guilt,  to- 
gether with  sincere  sorroio  for  sin,  and  an  utter  abandonment  of  it  as 
displeasing  to  God,  and  an  endeavor  after  new  and  constant  obedience 
in  the  life.     It  is  not  to  be  limited  to  an  hour,  or  a  day  or  a  year, 
but  it  should  be  mingled  with  each  breath  we  draw,  and  si- 
lenced only  in  death. — Confession  is  idle  and  unmeaning  unless 
the  thing  we  deplore  and  confess  as  unpleasing  to  God  is  not 
utterly  and  immediately  and  forever  abandoned.     The  outward 
life  is  regulated  by  the  principles  within ;  and  although  confess- 
ion is  made  with  strong  cries. and  tears  and  groans,  yet  if  the 
sins  are  not  abandoned  in  the  outer  life,  these  demonstrations 
of  grief  are  utterly  valueless  and  unacceptable,  since  they  are 
not  expressions  of  inward  change : — the  confession  lacks  gen- 
uineness, and  the  voice  of  confession  is  the  voice  of  falsehood. 
The  outward  change  is  the  only  proof  we  can  have  of  inward  change, 
and  of  the  sincerity  of  confession.     "By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know 
them."     If  we  would  have  God  "hear  and  forgive,"  if  we  are 
guilty  of  any  of  the  charges  I  have  specified,  if  any  sins  rise  up 
to  condemn,  let  us  remember  for  our  consolation,  there  is  no 
''Anathema  Maran-atha"  against  the  soul  that  confesses  unto 
God.     If  we  are  troubled  because  of  transgressions,  let  us  go 
to  God  and  confess  them  with  deep  sorrow  in  our  hearts  and 
an  utter  abandonment  of  them  in  our  lives.     He  will  forgive. — 


9 

With  John  we  have. the  promise:  "If  we  confess  our  sins,  He  is 
faithful  and  just  to  forgive  us  our  sins  and  to  cleanse  us  from 
all  unrighteousness."  1  Jno.  I.  9.  With  David  we  have  the 
fulfillment  of  His  promises  to  the  penitent:  "I  acknowledged 
my  sin  unto  thee,  and  mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid.  I  said  I 
will  confess  my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord,  and  thou  forgavest 
the  iniquity  of  my  sins."     Ps.  xxxn.  5. 

But  Supplication  as  well  as  Confession  must  precede  the  attain- 
ment of  the  ohject  we  have  in  view:  God's  pardoning  favor  and 
protection.     While  we  ask  God  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  our 
confession,  we  must  also  supplicate  Him  to  forgive  the  sins  we 
confess  and  deplore.     If  we  confess  only,  and"  supplicate  not 
for  pardon  and  favor,  our  purpose  is  not  answered,  nor  our  end 
gained.     A  disohedient  child  may  confess  his  disobedience  to 
his  father,  because  he  knows  his  father  witnessed  the  act;  hut 
while  his  pride  permits  him  to  humble  himself  thus  far,  it  may 
yet  deter  him  from  the  further  humility  implied  in  supplicat- 
ion for  pardon.     Not  to  supplicate  is  an  evidence  of  unsub- 
dued pride,  or  of  distrust  of  the  faithfulness  of  God.     Of  course 
confession  of  sins,  and  pride  which  is  the  very  opposite  of  that 
lowliness  of  spirit  implied  in  confession,  cannot  agree;    and 
hence  until  this  pride  of  heart  and  distrust  of  God  is  removed, 
until  humble  supplication  follows  confession,  the  object  cannot 
be  attained,  nor  the  blessing  enjoyed.     If  our  confession  to-day 
would  be  acceptable  unto  God,  and  our  object  attained,   we 
must  dethrone  from  our  hearts  this  demon,  pride,  and  with  the 
voice  of  confession,  mingle  our  earnest,  sincere  supplications 
for  the  pardoning  favor  and  protection  of  Almighty  God.     We 
must  descend  from  our  lofty  elevations,  and  clothing  our  hearts 
in  sack-cloth  and  ashes,  sit  down  in  the  vale  of  contrition  and 
supplication.     "The  Lord  is  nigh   unto  them  that  are   of  a 
broken  heart;    and  saveth  such  as  be  of  a  contrite  spirit,"  a 
broken  and  a  contrite  heart    0  God  thou  wilt  not  despise.— 
"Thus  saith  the  high  and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity, 
whose  name  is  Holy,  I  dwell  with  him  that  is  of  a  contrite  and 
humble  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the  humble  and  to  revive 
the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones."     Manasseh  whose  kingdom 
was  taken  from  him  because  of  his  wickedne^ 
besought  the  Lord  his  God,  and  humbled  him 
fore  the  God  of  his  fathers,  and  prayed  unto 
heard  his  supplication  and   brought  him  agaii 


10 

unto  his  kingdom."  If  we,  my  hearers  have  aught  to  he  for- 
given and  blessing  to  entreat,  let  Manasseh's  course  of  confess- 
ion and  supplication  he  ours,  and  God  will  "hearken  and  do." 
"He  that  covereth  his  sins  shall  not  prosper;  hut  lohoso  confess- 
eth  and  forsaketh  them  shall  have  mercy." 

But  passing  on,  let  us  enquire  what  the  condition  of  the  nation  is 
before  God.  Is  not  the  South  guilty,  and  has  she  not  much  to 
confess?  Are  there  no  stains  to  he  wiped  away?  Her  pros- 
trate attitude  assumes  that  she  has  much  to  confess — much 
from  which  to  he  purified.  There  is  yet  a  hideous  amount  of 
corruption,  political  and  moral,  to  be  found  exerting  a»4*ijfeft4- 
ing  influence  upon  her.  She  is  by  no  means  spotless.  The 
South  equally  with  the  North  has  been  made,  by  Divine  ap- 
pointment, the  Custodian  of  sacred  principles,  well  adapted  to 
subserve  sacred  ends — principles  competent  to  the  establish- 
ment of  sound  pure  Government,  which,if  rightly  guarded  and 
administered,  might  have  erected  upon  a  permanent  basis  a 
monument  of  Republican  energy  and  excellence,  that  would 
forever  have  silenced  the  cavils  of  rival  nations,  and  elicited 
the  admiration  and  praise  of  long  succeeding  generations. — 
But  how  has  she  fulfilled  her  commission?  True,  she  has  had 
hanging  upon  her  skirts,  and  to  a  certain  extent  paralyzing  her 
energies,  a  Northern  "body  of  death;'  and  now  perhaps,  divest- 
ed of  this  encumbrance,  she  may  successfully  work  out  the 
problem;  but  past  sins  in  this  respect  she  has  to  answer  for. 
Go  to  the  ballot-box,  and  witness  the  bribery  and  corruption 
which  might  well  cause  her  cheeks  to  blush — where  senseless 
heads  and  depraved  hearts,  shielded  by  the  panoply  of  wealth, 
haughtily  set  up  a  claim  upon  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  and 
substantiate  it  by  the  "almighty  dollar;" — where  -personal  quali- 
fications are  set  aside  for  personal  preferences!  And  what  has  been 
the  result?  Instead  of  sober,  dignified  counsel  and  sound 
judgment,  our  legislative  halls  have  groaned  under  the  weight 
of  corrupt  doctrine,  while  selfish  personal  aggrandizement  has 
completely  swallowed  up  all  considerations  for  the  national 
welfare ; — and  now  because  of  such  folly,  and  neglect  of  mat- 
ters of  such  high  importance  in  both  sections,  the  nation  weeps 
and  groans  and  bleeds.  It  becomes  the  South  because  of  this 
to  take  to  herself  "shame  and  confusion  of  face,"  and  the  atti- 
tude of  an  humble,  weeping,  confessing  supplicant  becomes 
her  well.    She  will  arise  from  her  position,  cleansed  from  these  sins, 


11 

and,  clothed  in  the  strength  of  God,  manfully  vindicate  the  right,  and 
rescue  it  from  the  hand  of  destroyers. 

But  this  is  not  all.  While  deriving  incalculable  benefit  from 
Christianity,  she  has  not  upheld  with  vigorous  arm  the  cause 
of  Truth.  Her  commerce  has  occupied  a  great  share  of  her 
affections;  and  properly  so.  Her  agricultural  interests  have 
lain  near  her  heart.  Her  public  works,  many  of  them  of  stu- 
pendous magnitude,  have  busied  her  hands.  The  Religion  of 
Christ  from  which  so  much  national  nourishment  has  been  gra- 
tuitously drawn,  has  been  to  a  certain  extent  subordinated  to  these 
and  assigned  a  secondary  place  in  her  affections.  •  Until  recently 
she  has  been  content  to  bind  herself  by  an  obligation  in  a  nat- 
ional covenant,  in  which  God  was  not  recognized;  or  if  recog- 
nized at  all,  with  an  indifference  which  seemed  to  regard  the 
introduction  of  that  Holy  name  as  a  mere  form,  void  of  all  sig- 
nificance or  solemnity.  This  indifference  to  the  cause  of  Christ 
to  which  she  is  largely  indebted,  increases  the  necessity  for  re- 
pentance a  thousand  fold.  While  the  kingdom  of  this  world, 
and  the  kingdom  of  Christ  are,  and  should  be,  separate  and 
distinct,  yet  the  principles  of  the  latter  should  be  the  very  foun- 
dation upon  which  this  Commonwealth  should  plant  itself. — 
Her  breath  should  be  inhaled  from  the  pure  atmosphere  of  the 
Bible. — Her  sustenance  should  be  derived  thence. — Her  very 
life  blood  should  flow  from  this  overflowing  fountain  of  purity. 
The  Government  of  the  Land  "ordained  of  God"  should  be 
thoroughly  pervaded  and  regulated  by  the  principles  of  God's 
word.  It  should  be  the  echo  of  Bible  truth — a  mighty  focus 
catching  and  concentrating,  and  thence  distributing  through 
its  varied  media,  the  purifying  influence  of  moral  truth. 

There  are  other  evils  which  degrade  the  Land  and  cry  to 
Heaven.  Throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  there 
are  certain  licensed  venders,  who  sacrifice  moral  principle  to  a 
greedy  lust  of  gain — who  feed  the  insatiate  appetites  of  misguid- 
ed infatuated  men,  regardless  of  the  appeals  of  frantic  wives, 
the  piteous  cries  of  famishing  children,  or  home  desolations  or 
the  moral  effect  upon  society — who  place  instruments  in  the 
hand  of  their  victims,  to  dethrone  reason  and  ify  gil'ted 

moral  feelings — who  build  upon  the  ruins  of  mei  and  who  help 
to  heap  wrecks  of  men  upon  society,  and  peopl  rnity  with 
lost  souls.     I  allude  to  venders  of  intoxicating  bei\  i  Some  of 

these  arc  to  be  found  even  holding  positions  ii     :  •  ■  church  of 


12 

Christ !     This,  the  authorities  wink  at,  and  testify  their  appro- 
bation with  a  license ! 

But  further  still  are  our  people  guilty.  Walk  clown  the  streets 
of  our  large  cities  and  even  of  our  villages,  and  upon  the  lips 
of  a  very  large  proportion  of  those  you  meet,  the  sacred  name  of 
God  trembles  irreverently ;  and  even  little  children,  following  the 
example  of  those  who  should  teach  them  reverence,  use  it  only 
to  add  emphasis  to  their  assertions ! 

Sabbath  after  sabbath  is  prostituted  to  game  making  and 
sport  and  merriment  at  the  will  of  a  crowd,  instead  of  being 
employed  by  them  as  a  day  of  sacred  rest  and  worship.  The 
Sabbatic  rest  of  the  fields  is  broken  by  the  shrill  whistle  of 
the  locomotive,  while  the  rivers  are  agitated  by  the  paddles 
of  the  steamboat.  There  are  other  sins  which  might  be  brought 
to  view  as  cause  for  repentance,  and  which  clamor  loudly  for 
reform.  0  people  of  the  South  wound  no  more  your  mother, 
upon  whose  bosom  you  have  securely  nestled ;  but  bear  her, 
now  weeping  and  bleeding,  upon  your  arms  to  the  throne,  and 
while  you  weep  with  her  and  for  her,  confess  her  sins  and  your 
sins  there,  with  a  spirit  of  humble  penitence,  and  God  will  ac- 
knowledge and  accept  the  sacrifice,  and  answer  with  speedy  and 
abundant  blessing.  "If  my  people  upon  whom  my  name  is  called, 
shall  humble  themselves  and  pray  and  seek  my  face,  and  turn  from 
their  wicked  ways;  then  will  I  hear  from  heaven,  and  will  forgive  their 
sin  and  will  heal  the  land"  2  Chron.  vn.  14.  "Behold  I  will  bring 
it  health  and  cure — and  will  reveal  unto  them  the  abundance  of  peace 
and  truth"     Jer.  xxxiii.  6. 

But  there  are  peculiar  blessings  of  temporal  character  hav- 
ing special  and  immediate  reference  to  the  present  condition  of 
the  land  which  we  should  make  the  subject  of  importunate 
prayer.  The  distracted  country  calls  loudly  for  peace.  She 
wants  not  war,  and  at  the  sight  of  blood,  shudders  and  turns  pale 
not  from  fear,  but  sorrow.  She  deprecates  the  scene  of  war  and 
carnage  and  blood.  She  weeps  even  while  she  strikes.  She  weeps 
for  departed  peace ; — not  because  she  is  a  coward,  but  a  hero  !  Not 
because  she  dare  not  maintain  the  right,  but  because  she  does 
not  want  the  right  to  bleed.  She  has  made  overture  upon  over- 
ture, and  yet  her  plea  is  not  regarded.  Her  "valiant  ones  cry 
without — the  ambassadors  of  peace  weep  Utterly."  Her  foe,  "hath 
broken  the  covenant — he  hath  despised  the  cities — he  regardethnoman" 
But  if  we  cannot  have  peace,  we  want  God's  favor  and  protect- 


13 

ion  in  the  day  of  strife.  For  what  do  our  foes  contend  ?  Not  for 
principle  or  right :  but  they  aim  the  death-blow  at  our  sacred 
institutions :  our  happy  smiling  homes  they  would  consign  to 
the  flames :  our  dearest  interests  they  would  plunder  and  de- 
stroy : — and,  as  the  loathsome  serpent  coils  itself  around  the 
trembling  bird,  they  would  clasp  the  great,  warm,  throbbing 
heart  of  our  cherished  land  in  their  serpentine  folds,  and  black- 
en and  wither  it  under  the  venom  of  their  malice.  That  I  speak 
the  truth  without  exaggeration,  recent  startling  developments 
prove.  They  would  "burn  each  blade  of  grass" — they  would 
consume  each  waving  field ; — they  would  desecrate  our  altars — 
they  would  blot  out  our  homes — they  would  heap  indignities 
and  insults  upon  our  helpless  families,  and  leave  behind  them  a 
scene  of  blackened  desolation ! — God  save  the  Land !  "No 
human  arm  is  equal  to  the  crisis.  No  human  eye  can  pene- 
trate the  future."  No  human  counsel  can  defeat  the  designs 
of  these  malignant  destroyers.  "Our  only  help  is  in  God — 
from  Him  cometh  our  salvation."  Let  us,  my  brethren,  awake 
to  the  stern  realities  that  are  before  us.  Noiv,  if  ever,  christian 
obligations  should  be  recognized  and  christian  duties  scrupu- 
lously performed.  Now,  if  ever,  is  the  time  to  "watch  and  pray." 
Let  us  as  christian  patriots,  awake  to  a  consciousness  of  the 
perils  that  surround  our  land  and  our  homes.  The  dangers 
which  assail  these  reflect  upon  the  precious  church  of  Christ. 
ShaM  Zum  suffer?  Shall  "spiritual  wickedness"  triumph  over 
her  and  trample  her  prostrate  form  in  the  dust  ?  Forbid  it,  Al- 
mighty Father  !  Let  us  awake  to  a  sense  of  our  duty  with  respect  to 
the  Church.  Let  our  prayers  constantly  assail  the  Throne. — 
Let  us  pray  for  strength  in  every  emergency.  Let  us  seek  GOD 
as  our  all-powerful  ally  in  political  and  spiritual  difficulties.  "Let 
us  scrupulously  resist  every  influence  that  is  unfriendly  to  the 
influences  of  His  Spirit.  Let  us  mortify  every  thought  and 
subdue  every  passion  upon  which  we  cannot  sincerely  invoke 
His  blessing.  "Let  us  wait  long  at  the  Mercy-seat,  and  re- 
member that  "the  fervent  effectual  prayer  of  the  righteous  man  avail- 
eth  much." 


D.  A.  ST.  CLAIR,  PRINTER,  WYTHEVILLE,  VA. 


pH8.5 


